A collection of automotive stuff, restaurant/travel-related items and personal observations; mostly a lot of claptrap, really.

Nashville

Taken a few years ago at some joint on Broadway in Nashville, this was one of several photos with good-looking girls I had never laid eyes on before. It wasn't my birthday, but the Nissan crew was telling every attractive female we encountered that it was. Here's to getting older!

Sunday, May 31, 2015

I'm not the kind of guy that relishes
spending big bucks on crap that must be done around the house. I
don't mean actual home improvements, but I refer to things that must
be done for general upkeep.

I'm happy – almost gleeful, really –
to pump bucks into remodeling and refurbishing projects that not only
improve my home's usability and/or appearance, but add a little value
as well. The $1,300 to $1,600 (My record keeping wasn't all it could
have been.) my recent shed project cost me was money well spent in my
opinion. Looking at it – let alone using it – always makes me
smile. I have no buyer's remorse as I stroke out the monthly checks
to American Express, the credit card on which I charged most of the
cost. Not only am I pleased with the way it looks, it has proven to
be everything I wanted it to be in terms of utility. The $300 or so I
recently spent on a new water heater, however, doesn't provide me
with the same warm fuzzies.

There is also a definite lack of warm
fuzzies with regard to my current tree-removal escapade.

As I gazed out my upstairs bathroom
window on Friday morning, I realized one of the huge (three or four
stories high) pine trees in my backyard was dead – not dying, but
deader than a doornail. How long had it been like that? No clue.
Apparently, I don't spend a lot of time in my yard gazing skyward.

Almost overnight, it seems, the tree on the right died.

Originally one member of a cluster of
three similarly sized pines – all leaning in drastically different
directions – this pine took a big hit a few winters ago when a wet
snow snapped off one of its major lower branches. I have no clue if
this was the beginning of its end, but something sure as heck struck
it a mortal blow.

One of its two siblings was felled by a
door-to-door tree cutter a year ago last November. He did it as one
element of a job that cleared the air space over my house of trees
and branches that could come crashing down in a severe storm. That
particular tree was leaning at a precarious angle over my house. I
still have several huge logs in the yard that the tree cutter never
returned to collect and remove. What do I expect for $250?

Logs left behind by my last bargain-basement door-to-door tree cutter.

The recently dead pine refused to be
ignored. (Perhaps it's just sleeping, I briefly hoped.) No, it leans
over the street that runs along the side of my lot. Figuring the cost
would be much higher to have it cut up and removed from the the
street if some part of it wound up straddling the pavement after a
storm, I rifled through my papers and found a flyer from yet another
door-to-door tree cutter who came a-callin' four or five months
ago.

Discovering the phone number on the
flyer was still in service was a positive development, I thought.
Dialing the number I was connected to the person the flyer identified
as the office manager. Possessing a different last name than the
flyer-identified owner, I have no clue how she fits into the
door-to-door-tree-cutting-company pecking order. I could barely hear
her over the racket of a chainsaw in the background. She eventually
strolled far enough from the din that I could hear she was turning
the phone over to her son Joey. He took my name and other particulars
and said they would be by later in the afternoon to provide an
estimate. I'm unsure as to her field role with this little company.
For the less than three hours they were at my house on Saturday, she
and some guy sat on the hood of her car watching her son and Billy
work.

Good to Joey's word – another
positive sign – I got a knock on my door about 5 p.m. After
throwing on a shirt and sandals, I stepped out into my carport to
find some old faded-blue sedan of indeterminate make in my driveway
with four or five people stuffed in it. Emerging from the driver's
seat, Joey extended his hand and introduced himself. He and another
guy – Billy, I later learned – walked with me around the house
to the problem tree.

10:45 a.m.

Breaking their business-conference
huddle, the two turned to me and Joey offered, “We'll take the dead
one out for $500, or we'll take it and the other one out for $600.”

“That includes removing all the wood,
right?” I questioned.

“Yep.”

“Will you remove those, too?” I
asked pointing to the half dozen big logs left by the last tree
cutter.

“Yep,” the ever eloquent Joey
answered.

“How about grinding out the stumps?”
I pushed my luck.

“We don't grind stumps,” Joey
replied, “but we got somebody who does. It'll probably cost you
another $100 for that. We don't remove the wood either, but I got a
guy. I included the cost in the $600.”

“Sold!” I said. “When?”

“You're on the top of our list
tomorrow,” Joey promised. “Billy likes to sleep in on Saturday;
so, we'll be here around 10.”

“Works for me,” I answered. “Will
you take a check?”

“Yep. Make it out to my mom.”

Long story, short, er, shorter: I got a
call from Joey around 10 on Saturday morning telling me they were
running a little late. Apparently Billy couldn't get his big ass out
of bed. I had an errand downtown and returned home around 10:45 to
find them preparing to start the job. By noon both trees were down,
cut up and ready to be hauled away.

Noon.

Joey told me the guy who hauls the wood
away and does the stump grinding was on a job and probably wouldn't
be by until Monday. No worries on my end, I told him, as long as he
could wait until everything was done to get paid. He appeared cool
with that.

We'll see what happens from here. I
still have my $600 and a side yard full of downed trees.

Monday, May 25, 2015

I'm not the kind of guy whose social
schedule mirrors TV Guide. That is to say, I'm not a slave to
any TV shows, but then, I have the luxury of a DVR to record
favorites when I'm not home to watch. Actually, though, I record
everything I watch, so I can fast forward through the commercials.

Among my TV-series box sets are the seven seasons of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" that I purchased 10 years ago at a retail cost of about $250.

One of my few nods to the digital age
is streaming a few series from Netflix or Amazon Prime for binge
watching. Just a few years ago, you had to buy or rent a season's
worth of a series in a DVD box set to binge watch it. I have a few
such collections that I purchased at anywhere from $25 to $50 a
season. Cha-ching!

I just completed watching all but the
most recent season of “Scandal” on Netflix. I'll watch the most
recent season once Netflix posts it. I am currently hooked on “The
Killing.” It's a four-season crime drama that aired on the AMC
network a couple of years ago. It took two 13-week seasons to get
through the 25-day investigation into the killing of a 17-year-old
girl. Yes, it drags in spots, but over the course of 26 episodes, I
was convinced four or five different people committed the crime just
to be surprised at the very end of the last episode of season 2 by
who actually did it.

The Killing's Enos and Kinnaman.

I like the two detectives Sarah Linden,
played by Mireille Enos, and Stephen Holder played by Joel Kinnaman,
who are the central characters of the show. Well written, the first
two seasons were pretty compelling. I'm ready to launch into season
3. The one thing about this show I find annoying and almost comical
is that virtually everyone smokes. Adapted from Danish TV, “The
Killing” may just be laboring under a strong European influence.
Smoking is almost a medal sport in Europe and Scandinavia. Barely a
scene goes by where someone isn't puffing away. Nearly everyone, but
the youngest of children, light up at some point or another. If I
watched it with someone, we'd play a drinking game where we would do
a shot every time someone lights up. Of course, we'd be shitfaced
before the first commercial break. Otherwise, this is a wonderfully
engaging show.

A couple of times a year I search
“canceled TV series” to see which of the shows I follow is
returning next season and which isn't. I am often disappointed by
shows that their networks ax and by the ones that, despite
questionable entertainment value, are renewed.

Battle Creek's buddies.

Here are some of my biggest
disappointments among canceled shows so far this year on the major
networks:

Forever ABC – A well-crafted show
about a medical examiner who doesn't age or die.

Among the series airing on cable
networks I am most sorry to see eliminated is FX's “Justified.”
It's a serial crime drama starring Timothy Olyfant as a U.S. Marshal
working in Kentucky's Appalachia region. Excellent writing,
characters and actors. It's fun TV. You can stream it on Amazon
Prime.

Timothy Olyphant as Justified's Marshal Raylan Givens.

Here are announced renewals that have
me scratching my head, wondering who exactly watches these turkeys:

Terrible acting and lackluster writing characterize each and every episode of 2 Broke Girls.

The Bachelor ABC – An idiot acting
idiotically toward other idiots.

Extreme Weight Loss ABC – This is
entertainment, really?

How to Get Away With Murder ABC –
Perhaps the least watchable show of the 2015 season.

Secrets and Lies ABC – With neither a
character nor an actor with any redeeming quality whatsoever.

Monday, May 4, 2015

I'm not the kind of guy who spends a
lot of time wandering the boulevards of Beverly Hills. In fact, I
don't think I had ever been there before the recent Fiat media event
introducing the all-new 2016 500X crossover. I may have skirted this
community on some previous carmaker ride and drive, but if so, I
don't remember it. But then my memory isn't all that it used to be.

Fiat put us up at the trendy Mr. C
Beverly Hills. This is an accommodation both upscale and a bit odd.
The dominating art lining its public spaces and guest rooms is a
series of large black-and-white candid photos of people you think you
should recognize, but can't quite place them. That's because they
aren't celebrities; rather, they are just civilians mugging for the
camera. I guess that's one way to save a few bucks on the decorating.

Mr. C Beverly Hills is buffered from
the city itself by three or four blocks of private residences. Upon
arriving at the hotel, I took advantage of the early hour by hiking
the few blocks into the heart of Beverly Hills in search of some
craft beers. Strolling by Rodeo Drive, I eventually arrived at
Bedford & Burns on Bedford Avenue just off of Wilshire Boulevard.
There I had the bar and the attention of the bartender all to myself.
Only three craft beers were on tap and one of those an IPA from the
despicable Stone Brewery. That alone almost sent me packing. Calming
down, however, I searched the bottled-beer list and found Moose Drool
Brown Ale from Montana's Big Sky Brewery. A staple of my Eatons'
Ranch visits over the years, I simply couldn't pass it up.

Dinner that evening was at the
Smog Shoppe. This is a wedding venue. No one tied the knot, but the
catered dinner was good. If memory serves, I think there were some
drinks, too.

The next morning, we were introduced to
the star of the show at an hour-long presentation. The 500X looms
over Fiat's core 500 in size and cost. Offered in five trims, the
500X base prices range from $20,000 for the entry-level Pop to
$27,100 for the Trekking Plus. All grades but the Pop can be armed
with all-wheel drive.

Beneath the skin, the 500X shares
mechanicals with the recently released Jeep Renegade. This isn't a
bad thing. Renegade is a wonderfully competent off roader. Roomy and
comfortable, the 500X relies on either a 160-horsepower 1.4-liter
turbocharged four-cylinder or a 180-horsepower 2.4-liter engine. Both
use a nine-speed automatic transmission to transfer output to the
wheels.

AWD versions get a rear axle that
completely disconnects when only two-wheel propulsion is required.
That saves fuel. A grocery list of available and standard features
provide as much safety and gee-whiz technology as you could want.
Things like Uconnect, Forward Collision Warning, Lane Departure
Warning, navigation, Bluetooth connectivity and so forth are among
the 500X's goodies.

We zipped around southern Calif. on our
ride and drive. We cruised along the beach, as well as negotiating
the foothills. This wasn't a particularly challenging drive, but it
did include a healthy dose of twists and turns. The 500X really
handles!

Lunch was back at 3Labs Warehouse in Culver City where we had soaked up 500X details with rapt attention earlier in the day. The lunch highlight was a food truck offering wood-fired pizza.

The 500X should raise Fiat's U.S.
profile. Although the tiny 500 can be written off as one of many
econoboxes, the 500X casts a much larger shadow, difficult to ignore.
Italian styling plus a high level of utility will put the 500X on the
consideration list of people who, up to this point, probably haven't
given Fiat much thought.

Once returned from our 500X outing,
Fiat kept us at the hotel where we had dinner, wrapping up the
evening with cocktails in the hospitality suite. Not being much of a
shopper, the lure of Beverly Hills is lost on me. However, rubbing
elbows with the one percent is always entertaining.

My 4-1-1

I began covering the automotive industry in 1986, when I parlayed my position as a retail sales rep into helping conceptualize and establish a stand-alone automotive section for the Boca Raton News a Knight-Ridder newspaper in South Florida. In 1995 I moved to the Palm Beach Post to help develop its bi-weekly automotive pages. Leaving there in 2000, I freelanced car reviews to a variety of publications before assuming a senior editor position at AMI Autoworld magazine in 2001. While at AMI I helped launch NOPI Street Performance Compact magazine and was appointed its managing editor. I have been freelancing since leaving AMI in 2004. My regular outlets have included Hispanic Magazine, the Miami Herald, the Washington Times, the Journal-Register Newspapers, AAA Go magazine, MyCarData.com, Automotive Metrics, AutoTrader, Bankrate.com and Interest.com.

In addition to freelancing automotive reviews, from 1991 until 2001 I was supervising producer of the syndicated television series Discover America.